


Falsery

by gidmont



Series: Falsery [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Drama & Romance, Everyone Is Gay, Friendship/Love, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, M/M, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2019-07-18 03:16:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16109636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gidmont/pseuds/gidmont
Summary: Patton is tired of being hurt by the other sides. Luckily for him, an unexpected visitor gives him some advice. Hopefully it works, because the last thing Patton wants is to lose his best friends. [Patton x Deceit] [Patton x Logan] [Roman x Virgil]





	1. Word of Advice

"Patton, nothing you say has ever helped in any situation, so for once, stop talking." Logan's words brought Patton to a crashing halt. He immediately closed his mouth, his former bright smile quickly replaced by a pained frown. Roman and Virgil had made plenty of similar comments, but for the most part Patton could handle those. When Logan made them, though, that was when his heart broke. Patton knew that Logan could be a bit short-tempered. By now he came to expect the sharp comments from his bespectacled friend. But that didn't mean they stung any less.

He watched as Logan easily carried on the conversation with Roman, Virgil, and Thomas without him. They were arguing about a new problem in Thomas's love life, each of them coming up with their own solutions and pointing out flaws in the others'. Patton felt invisible, yet again. More and more, he was being left out of discussions, and even when he was participating, the other sides snapped at him whenever he made a dad joke or did anything else they deemed "needlessly silly."

Feeling tired and slightly sick from the rough day, Patton slowly sank down, sure that no one would notice or care about his absence. He rose up in his room and savored the familiar jolt of happiness he always felt when he came here. Just as soon as it hit him, however, it faded away, leaving him alone with his sadness.

He collapsed onto his bed with a loud sigh and stared at the Danny DeVito poster taped to the ceiling. "You would never treat me like they do, Danny," he mumbled to himself as he pulled a small dog plushie to his chest.

"Oh, he wouldn't dream of it."

Patton let out a yelp as he bolted upright and hurled the stuffed dog in the direction of the unknown voice. He regretted it as soon as he saw that it was just Deceit, who easily caught the dog with one gloved hand and continued to lean against the wall as if nothing had happened.

"I'm so sorry, kiddo!" Patton cried. "You just startled me." He slid off the bed and took a step towards his visitor.

Deceit examined the dog with a bored expression. "Thank goodness for my reflexes, this could've killed me," he murmured, and tossed it back to Patton. "Apologies for my unannounced visit, but I couldn't help but notice your dilemma."

Patton did his best to catch the dog, but it fell to the floor. "My dilemma?" He picked the dog back up and hugged it.

Deceit raised a brow. "With your friends? How they treat you like an annoying fly that won't leave them alone?"

"No they don't, they just-"

The dark side silenced Morality with a raised hand. "You can't argue with me, Patton. I hear the things they say to you. Especially that Logic fellow."

At the mention of Logan, Patton bristled, but he knew that Deceit was right. As much as Patton wished he could deny it, Logan really could be cruel sometimes. But didn't that make the times he was sweet even better?

Apparently, his thoughts and feelings about Logan were clear on his face, because the next thing Deceit said was, "You love him, don't you?"

Patton swallowed, his throat now dry. He loved Logan more than he loved baby animals. But he doubted that information was safe with Deceit. The dark side didn't exactly have the best reputation. "Of course I do. I love all of them," he said, not able to meet Deceit's eyes. That one snake eye had a way of making him feel trapped.

Deceit stepped closer to Patton. "Now, now, you know that isn't quite what I meant."

"No, I don't love him like that, that would be ridiculous," he lied. He hugged the dog even tighter, hoping Deceit wouldn't see right through him.

The dark side smiled. "It would indeed, especially since he would never feel that way about you."

Patton looked up at him now, disappointment flooding his heart. "What? Why?" Oh no, he probably seemed too upset. He tried again with a more casual voice. "I mean, why do you say that?"

"Isn't it obvious? He's Logic. You're Morality. He solves math problems, you… what, play with cats? The two don't mix. If I'm being honest, he probably hates you."

Hot tears formed in Patton's eyes. It was true. Logan had every reason to hate Patton; they were complete opposites, and it was clear the latter did nothing but irritate the former.

"But you know what?" Deceit started. He gently brushed away Patton's tears with his thumbs. "It isn't your fault."

"It's not?"

"No. It's his. It's all of theirs. They don't appreciate you, and that makes them idiots. Where would Thomas be if he didn't have you? He'd have no friends, no fans that adore him. And aren't you the reason he started making videos in the first place?" He lowered his hands to Patton's shoulders. "He'd be nothing without you, dear Morality."

Patton searched Deceit's face. The reptilian man seemed sincere, and what he was saying made sense. Morality did seem to play a major role in Thomas's life, and if Logan, Roman, and Virgil didn't like that, then that was their problem. "You're right," he finally said, a smile on his face once again.

"I always am." Deceit let go of Patton and strolled around the room, admiring its many bright and colorful decorations. "Your room is lovely." He looked back at Morality. "A perfect representation of you."

Patton grinned at him. "Aw, thanks, kiddo! I've been thinking about changing it up a bit, but it's just so cozy the way it is! What's your room like? Does it have snakes in it? Is it yellow?"

Deceit shook his head, unable to hold back a chuckle. "I can show you, if you'd like."

Patton's eyes widened in excitement. "Please, please, please! Adventure to Deceit's room!"

In a moment, they were both rising up in Deceit's personal space. Deceit stood to the side and watched Patton expectantly.

Patton gazed around the room with his usual awe and enthusiasm, taking in the dark grey walls and ornate furniture. He gasped. "It's like the Bat Cave mixed with a castle."

Deceit tilted his head. "Is that a good thing?"

Patton turned to him and nodded aggressively, then went back to exploring the new territory. There weren't quite as many snakes or as much yellow as he had expected (and hoped for), but he still thought the room was nifty.

Deceit watched him silently from his spot in the corner. It wasn't long before the paternal side was talking again.

"Hey, Deceit?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you being so nice to me? Aren't you a bad guy?"

Deceit laughed. "That depends. Do you think I'm a bad guy?"

"Well, I don't know. You're not really acting like it. But don't you tell lies a lot?"

"Of course I do, it's who I am. But lying can be good, Patton."

Patton stopped where he was and turned to face Deceit, his expression questioning.

"Allow me to elaborate. If your friend looked completely hideous but they were proud of their appearance, you would tell them they look good, wouldn't you?"

Patton hesitated, then nodded.

"And if you were planning a surprise for someone, would you tell them the truth if they started asking about it?"

"No…"

"Of course you wouldn't. See? Lying is perfectly okay."

Patton sighed. It made sense when Deceit put it that way. Normally he wouldn't even think lying was an option, but he hadn't considered the kinds of situations Deceit had proposed. If lying was acceptable during times like those, did that mean it was acceptable more often than that and he just didn't know? Could Morality be deceitful without being any less moral?

Deceit removed his hat and carefully placed it on a nearby coat hanger as Patton continued admiring the room. "If you don't mind me asking, how do you plan on handling your little friends and their treatment of you?"

"Oh, well…" Patton shrugged. "I don't know."

"I do."

Patton didn't have to look to know that Deceit was staring at him; he could just feel it. Eventually, he turned to meet his eyes. When he didn't say anything, Deceit continued.

"Lie to them, Patton."

"What?"

"They clearly can't stand you as you are now. If you don't change, you'll lose their friendship. You don't want that, do you?"

"I…" Patton's eyes widened. The other sides meant everything to him. He didn't know what he would do if they weren't in his life anymore. If there was anything he could do to keep them from leaving him, he would do it. "That's the last thing I want," he finally answered.

A crooked smile formed on Deceit's lips. He walked over to Patton, stopping right in front of him. "Then you know what you have to do, Patton. Change yourself for them. Don't make the jokes that you know they won't appreciate, don't let them know how they affect you, pretend to be happy so they don't think twice. I'm sure you don't want to make them upset."

Patton didn't particularly like this plan, but he didn't see any other way. It was obvious that he had to do something differently to make sure the other sides didn't continue pushing him away and out of their lives. Deceit stood with his arms crossed, clearly waiting for his reaction, so Patton squared his shoulders and said, "If it means they'll like me more, I'll do it." He was grateful Deceit was showing him that he needed to start doing something different. If he hadn't, Patton was certain that eventually he would've lost the people that mattered most to him.

Deceit clapped his hands together. "Very good! You'll see soon enough that it will make a large difference in how they treat you. Now, I have other business to attend to, but Patton," he started, moving his hand to rest on Patton's upper arm, "I want you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to who you're sure will give you their full attention, I'll always be here." He gazed down at the other side with kind eyes.

A sudden surge of warmth flowed through Patton at the dark side's words. Somewhere far in the back of his mind, he knew that he probably shouldn't trust Deceit, but that look. It made Patton want to spill all his secrets to him. "Thanks, kiddo. That means a lot. Especially coming from you! For the longest time I thought you were just some evil little guy, but look at you, bein' all friendly! Don't judge a cover by its book, am I right?" He laughed, feeling like himself again thanks to Deceit's kindness.

"Yes, right, just…" Deceit pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a moment, groaning inwardly. "I suppose you can act like yourself around me, but remember what I told you, okay?"

"What did ya tell me, kiddo?"

"To lie to your friends, you-" Deceit breathed in through his nose, stopping himself from finishing the less than kind sentence he was thinking. Saying anything even remotely offensive to Patton had the potential to ruin his whole plan.

"Oooh, yeah, that! You betcha!"

Deceit rolled his eyes. "Good. Run along now."

Patton grinned and waved goodbye, prompting Deceit to reluctantly wave back, then sank down, excited to see how the other sides would react to his new and improved personality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, friendos! thank you very much for taking the time to read this silly little nugget. i hope you enjoyed it! feel free to leave a comment and all those things ~ they make me happy!
> 
> i hope you have a lovely day/night!


	2. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton reflects on his progress. Deceit takes a chance.

_We need actual contributions from you every now and then._

_You are the issue here._

_Perhaps it's best you just stick to knowing the difference between right and wrong and leaving the rest to us._

_Airhead._

_Dolt._

_Clueless moron._

_You always screw it up._

The harsh words echoed relentlessly in Patton's mind like a bad song that was stuck in his head. He was sprawled across his bed, holding a pillow against his face in an attempt to block out the comments, but they were as loud as ever.

He had been following Deceit's advice as well as he could. He put on a fake smile, acted like he wasn't at all bothered by the others' insults, and, in essence, altered his personality so that he didn't annoy them, meaning no dad jokes or other overly enthusiastic responses. He was still the happy, smiley Patton they knew; he just didn't talk or contribute to their conversations with Thomas as much as he did before. While there had been a noticeable difference in the way they treated him for a while, of course he sometimes managed to do the wrong thing which prompted them to verbally attack him once more. He didn't blame Deceit for that; it was entirely Patton's fault for being the idiot that he was and messing up their plan.

Somehow, none of the sides seemed to notice that Patton was in pain, but he supposed that was a good thing. That was the whole point, wasn't it? To keep them happy. To keep them from worrying, from hating him. To keep Logan from hating him.

It was probably good, then, that he made an occasional mistake. Maybe it made him seem just enough in-character and normal so that they didn't think anything was different about him. He couldn't bear to think of how they'd react if they found out what he was doing.

The insults that had been taking over his thoughts finally began to subside. Patton slowly pushed his pillow back to its rightful place on his bed and sat up, wiping away the dampness from his eyes. He took a shaky breath and slid off the bed before walking over to his vanity and staring at his reflection in the mirror above it. His dark hair curled in disheveled waves, and fallen tears left behind streaks that cut through his red complexion. His gaze hardened as he took in his unkempt appearance. It was about time he stopped feeling sorry for himself and took steps towards being the positive figment he was supposed to be. And right now, he knew he only had one friend who could help with that.

* * *

Deceit sat at his black grand piano, casually fingering the keys to form a haunting melody that resonated throughout his spacious bedroom. He'd had plenty of free time recently, only having to work when Thomas needed some encouragement to tell a little white lie or hide a bit of truth, so he'd been taking advantage of the opportunity to mess around with his hobbies. Deceit was by no means an adept pianist, but occasionally he liked to compose his own songs or try to figure out how to play a cover without sheet music. It was a good way to pass the time, he discovered one day, when he played for what felt like only a few minutes but eventually checked the time and saw that hours had passed.

Deciding to take a break, he stood up and grabbed his hat from where it hung on the wall. Placing it carefully upon his head, he headed for the door, planning on going for a walk around the mental house he and all the other sides lived in to stretch his sore muscles.

He opened the door and raised his brows in surprise when he found Patton standing right outside with his fist raised to knock.

At first Patton's face mirrored Deceit's, but he quickly broke into a smile and let his hand fall back to his side. "Oh, hiya, kiddo! Hope I didn't come at a bad time."

Deceit peered down at the other side, taking in his shaggy hair and red face. Morality never looked like this. "No. Come in," he said, ushering Patton into his room and closing the door behind them. He leaned against the door and crossed his arms as Patton turned to face him. "Tell me what's wrong." Deceit knew he wasn't supposed to care, but the idea of Patton, the most positive person he knew, upset and crying stirred up some part of his cold heart.

Patton feigned confusion. "Well, nothing, Deceit. I'm happy pappy Patton!"

Deceit knew Patton was lying; his face made it obvious, yes, but Deceit also felt the small, pleasant burst of heat that formed in his chest whenever he or anyone around him lied. He was grateful for the lie like always, but at the same time was genuinely curious about what was bothering the father figure. "Don't lie to me, Morality. That's my job."

With a defeated sigh, Patton dropped the façade, and Deceit could see just how tired he was. "Sorry, kiddo. Do you think maybe we could… talk somewhere else? I think some fresh air would be pretty nifty."

Nodding, Deceit imagined the calm setting of a park on a sunny day, and with a wave of a hand they were both standing in the middle of it. It may not have been real, but it definitely seemed like it. Thomas's mind was surprisingly powerful.

In an instant Patton perked up, looking around at the scenery in awe. He grinned at Deceit, and Deceit couldn't help but smile back. Patton really could be adorable sometimes, as much as he didn't want to admit it. "I hope this is decent enough," Deceit murmured.

"It's beautiful, kiddo! There are ducks and everything!" Patton skipped over to a nearby pond where a paddling of ducks was floating leisurely. "Quack."

Deceit slowly followed, watching as Patton admired the view. It was beautiful, like Patton said. Shades of pink and orange painted the sky, and the grass was a vivid green. A gentle breeze played with their hair and carried a sweet floral scent. Deceit took a deep breath, savoring the moment. He moved to stand next to Patton, gazing at the few clouds present. "This was a good suggestion. I was planning on taking a walk anyway," he said.

"Oh, I'm glad! Let's walk, then," Patton chirped. He took Deceit by the arm and tugged him toward a path that wound around the fairly large pond.

Deceit followed the other's lead, but at Patton's touch, he felt heat redden his cheeks. Not wanting Patton to see, he looked away, mentally cursing himself. Why was he reacting so strangely? It was just Morality, the most annoying side, his opposite. There was no reason for the cheerful man to have such an impact on him. He supposed he would just try to ignore it, at least for now.

"So," he started, looking anywhere but at Patton, "would you like to talk about what's clearly bothering you?"

Patton's aura immediately changed from one of carefree joy to a quiet sadness. A moment passed before he answered. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong." His voice was small, fragile, like he was barely able to get the words out.

Now Deceit looked at him. He said nothing, knowing that eventually Patton would continue.

"I've been doing what you told me. You know that." He looked up at Deceit, wide eyes searching for reassurance that he was right.

Deceit dipped his head in a brief nod. This wasn't the first time Patton had gone to him since being advised to change for his friends. They had gotten together fairly often, mainly to chat about unimportant things. Patton had told him how he'd say and do things differently to keep the hurtful comments at bay, and Deceit had praised and encouraged him. He knew that Patton was trying his best to follow the advice.

"But somehow I still mess up. They're not mean as often, I guess, but I don't think they like me any more than before." Patton adjusted his glasses with his free hand, the other still gripping Deceit's forearm. "Why don't they like me, Deceit?"

"I can't answer that."

"Why not?"

"Because I cannot think of a single reason anyone wouldn't like you." The words were out of Deceit's mouth before he could stop them. Surprised at himself, he removed his arm from Patton's grasp and turned to face the pond, feigning sudden interest in the ducks. Why had he said that? Why not just lie, or better yet, avoid answering at all? He should've just told Patton what he said before: That the other sides are fools and just jealous of Patton being the most important part of Thomas. But no, he had to go and tell the truth like an idiot. He sighed and rubbed his eyes and forehead, lowering his gaze to the ground by his feet. He felt Patton's presence beside him, but ignored it.

"Thanks for making me feel better, kiddo. You're really good at it."

Deceit's brow furrowed as he raised his head and glanced over at the moral side. "Am I?"

Patton grinned at him. "Of course! All you do is compliment me. I don't think you've ever said anything mean to me. And you're the only one who actually listens to what I have to say. You're a good friend, friendo!"

The corner of Deceit's mouth twitched upwards in a small smile. "I'm glad you think so, Patton," he said quietly. He sighed. "This is ridiculous."

Patton's smile vanished. "What is?"

"I'm supposed to be comforting you, and here you are, trying to help me. Ridiculous." Deceit let his smile widen as he looked Patton.

Morality threw his head back in a bright laugh, the sadness from earlier gone without a trace, leaving nothing but his usual cheerfulness. Deceit couldn't help but notice how nice the other side's laugh sounded; it was authentic and musical and seemed like it could erase all the negativity in the world.

Deceit draped his arm around Patton's shoulders and slowly led him back to the path, feeling more relaxed than he had in a long time. "Let's continue our walk, shall we?"

Patton agreed. They walked together in silence for a short while before he broke it. "That song you were playing on the piano earlier was really pretty."

Deceit glanced at him, eyebrows raised in surprise and mild embarrassment. "I didn't know you heard that."

The shorter side just smiled at him and turned his attention back to the scenery surrounding them.

The two sides went on to explore the rest of the imaginary park, Patton back to normal making his silly jokes, and Deceit finding himself laughing along with him.

It soon became a daily routine for them: Patton would stop by Deceit's room every evening to talk about their day and anything else that was on their minds, giving each other encouragement whenever they needed it. Deceit was the one who suggested the idea; the more Patton trusted him, the better. Of course, Patton loved the concept of spending time with his friend every day, so Deceit hardly had to do any convincing. Eventually, Patton stopped taking part in the discussions with Thomas and the other sides, instead keeping to himself in his room or Deceit's.

One night, they were both lounging on Deceit's king-sized bed, separated by a foot or two of space. They had on more comfortable attire than their usual outfits; Patton was wearing his cat onesie while Deceit wore black silk pajamas. Normally, Deceit wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything other than his suit and hat, but just as Patton had been growing more comfortable with him, he had been growing more comfortable with Patton.

Deceit lay on his back with his hands resting on top of his stomach, and Patton was on his side, holding his head up with a hand. Their most recent conversation had slowly died, and they now rested in companionable silence.

After a while of quietly appreciating each other's company, Deceit spoke up. "It's interesting that I know your name, Patton, but you still don't know mine."

Patton shifted so that his eyes were level with Deceit's. "Ooh! Are you gonna tell me?" He smiled in anticipation, then stopped himself and quickly added, "You don't have to if you don't want to though."

Deceit smirked at him and said, "I suppose I have to now that I've gotten you all excited." He paused dramatically, enjoying how Patton watched his every move, eager to finally learn the dark side's name but powerless to make the reveal happen sooner. "Are you sure you want to know?"

Patton nodded vigorously as he pulled his hood tight around his head.

"It's Fidel."

Eyes wide and smile wider, Patton gently shoved Deceit in the shoulder. "That's so neat!" He drew back his arm, and his smile softened, turning from one of excitement to one of gratitude. "Thank you for telling me, Fidel."

Hearing Patton say his name made Deceit unexpectedly happy. His eyes met Patton's, then he was suddenly overwhelmed with affection for the other side, and he hurriedly looked away. Every time they were together, Patton always somehow managed to do or say something that Fidel couldn't help but find attractive, whether it was a particularly clever dad joke, or he stood in just the right position so that the light hit him perfectly. At the time, Deceit had thought nothing of it, assuming that it was simply a phase that would end soon enough; nothing to worry about. But now that they had learned so much about each other, he was shocked to find that he truly liked Patton and enjoyed spending time with him. The moral side was never anything less than kind, considerate, and full of love, and Fidel couldn't comprehend how the other sides could treat him with such disdain. In his opinion, Patton deserved nothing but the best.

And in his opinion, Deceit was the best.

He breathed in deeply, catching the scent of cookies coming from his friend and telling himself that it was giving him courage. He looked Patton in the eye again. "The next few things I say are going to be lies. Understand?" At least he'd be partially in his comfort zone.

Morality cocked his head, but his smile never left his face. "Um, sure, kiddo."

Fidel exhaled a bit, doing everything he could to keep from showing Patton how nervous he was. "I don't have feelings for you. You're not adorable in every way. The last thing I want to do is kiss you right now." He watched Patton closely for any hint of what he was thinking.

At first Patton didn't react at all, but within seconds the realization of what was just said hit him. His face turned a bright red, the smile gone, and he slowly got off the bed. He paced around a bit, then finally said, "I don't know what to say. I have to think a little, okay? Is that okay?" He faced Fidel, hope evident in his expression.

Deceit stared at him for a moment before nodding, and watched as the other side sank down. He fell back into his pillows and hid his face in his hands, angry and feeling like a fool. He shouldn't have given in to feelings. He should've known that they'd lead to nothing but idiocy and embarrassment. Nothing Patton had said or done gave any indication of him returning Deceit's affection, so revealing how he felt was a complete and utter mistake. He turned off the light and slipped under his bed covers, knowing he wouldn't sleep tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this chapter a while ago and rereading it made me smile while hiding under a blanket


	3. His Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan, Roman, and Virgil confront Patton.

Logan entered the kitchen of the mind palace and found Virgil and Roman sitting beside each other at the island and eating some kind of pasta. He nodded at them in greeting, then began searching the fridge for anything he could use to make dinner for himself.

“Have either of you seen Patton recently?” Logic asked, glancing over at the couple. Patton had only been in Thomas’s most recent videos sporadically, not spending any more than a few minutes with the rest of the group before leaving, and Logan hadn’t run into him or heard from him at all in the mental house all the sides lived in together for quite some time. Now that he thought about it, Thomas had been acting differently, too. Usually he was energetic and smiling all the time, but now his personality seemed… muted. When the sides were out during one video, they learned that he had been making decisions he normally never would, acting selfishly and, as a result, finding himself having issues with his friends that could have easily been avoided. Patton hadn’t said anything, and the rest of the sides had focused on solving the immediate problems rather than figuring out why they were happening in the first place. Patton was almost certainly the reason for the change in Thomas and his current problems. Logan was mildly concerned about Morality’s whereabouts, but doubted there was anything to worry about.

Virgil shook his head. “Princey?”

“I figured he was just with you the whole time,” said Roman, looking at Logan. Virgil smirked into his pasta.

Logan turned back to the fridge, deciding to heat up some chicken paired with vegetables. “Why would he be with me?” he asked, working on his dinner.

“Please, it’s obvious you two are in _love!_ ” Roman sang with a dramatic sweep of his arm.

“Falsehood.” Granted, Logan did think Patton could be quite endearing – he might even be interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with the moral side if the right opportunity presented itself. But it was highly improbable that Patton would ever reciprocate his feelings. He was aware he could often be hard-hearted, a trait that surely wasn’t attractive to Morality, the core of Thomas’s feelings and his emblematic heart.

Virgil rolled his eyes and gave Roman a knowing look, causing Roman to smile back at him with a raised brow. “Whatever,” Virgil said to Logan. He stood up from his spot at the counter. “Shouldn’t we try to find him and see what’s up? If none of us have seen him recently then something’s wrong.”

Logan looked over at Virgil. The anxious side’s worry and concern for his friend was evident from the scowl on his face and his hunched posture. They may not always see eye to eye, but he had always admired Virgil’s sense of loyalty and ability to think about every possibility in a given situation, not just what everyone else wanted to be true. 

He sighed, then started putting away what he had taken out for his dinner. “You make a good point. It’s obvious Patton isn’t behaving normally, so I suppose we should make sure he’s alright.” As soon as he was finished, he turned to the two other sides and crossed his arms, starting to feel irritated at Patton for not being considerate of how his behavior was affecting Thomas and the other sides. “He’s most likely in his room. Ready?”

Virgil nodded while Roman remained seated, looking like a child who was told to go to bed early. “But my pasta.”

If Logan’s looks could kill, Roman would be dead.

Virgil tugged on his boyfriend’s arm. “Come on, Princey. You wouldn’t turn down a chance to be heroic, would you? You can finish your pasta later.” He shot Logic an exasperated look, which Logan appreciated. At least Virgil had common sense.

Roman groaned and stood up. “Fine. We all know I’m his only hope if he’s in danger anyway.” He began to sink down. “Vamonos, peasants.”

Logan and Virgil quickly followed suit, and soon they were all right outside Patton’s room.

* * *

Patton rose up in his room and immediately continued to pace all over. Deceit—Fidel—had feelings for him. Why was he so shocked? It made sense, in a way; why else would Fidel want to spend so much time with him? 

He stopped pacing and took a seat on his bed, head reeling. He had thought he and Fidel were just friends, but now he wasn’t sure how to feel. Fidel definitely seemed to care about Patton and enjoy his company. The dark side’s face, though others might find it frightening, was actually quite cute to Patton, along with his charming, eccentric personality.

But what about Logan? 

_No_ , he thought. The logical side had only hurt Patton, hardly ever showing any signs of love, platonic or otherwise. Yes, Logan could be adorable sometimes, and he never failed to impress Patton with his wit, but was that enough to fall in love with him? Patton sighed and sat on his bed, hiding his face in his hands.

He remained in that position for a few seconds more when a loud knock at his bedroom door made him jolt upright. All he wanted right now was some time alone to think, but he didn’t want to be rude by not answering. And anyway, he had a pretty good guess of who was there and knew they wouldn’t take no for an answer. He took a shaky breath before telling the visitors to come in.

The door opened and in walked all three of the other sides. Patton’s eyes immediately fixed on Logan first; the taller side looked neutral, as always. Morality then glanced at the other two; Roman looked like the last thing he wanted was to be there, and of course Virgil looked mildly anxious. Patton hoped he was alright.

He put on a bright smile, doing his best to hide his inner turmoil. “Hiya, kiddos! What are you up to?”

“Where have you been, Patton?” Logan snapped, stalking past Roman and Virgil to stand directly in front of Morality.

Patton couldn’t help but flinch and shrink away from the barely contained anger in Logan’s voice.

Before he could answer, Virgil joined in, albeit in a slightly gentler tone. “We’ve been worried about you, Dad. You’ve barely been in any videos and we haven’t seen you off camera at all in… days.”

Patton opened his mouth to speak when Roman added, “If you hadn’t disappeared I would still be with my beloved pasta.”

“Enough, Roman,” Logic barked, then turned back to Patton. 

“I-”

“Clearly you’re fine, so why have you been keeping to yourself all this time? Do you have any idea what Thomas has been going through because of you?” Logan added, cutting him off.

Patton waited for a second, feeling his face heat up with his own anger, before responding. “Are you going to let me answer?” he asked, looking directly into Logan’s eyes, glancing at the others, then back to Logan. When they said nothing, he continued, doing his best to stay calm. “Because this is exactly why I left. You treat me like nothing I have to say matters. All you do is insult me and tell me how dumb I am. I may be childish sometimes, but I’m not dumb!” His voice had slowly worked itself into a yell, but at this point he was too overcome with emotions to care. “I know you don’t actually care about me or my feelings. I’m surprised you even noticed I was gone.” He initially meant to make eye contact with each of them equally, but by the end of his outburst he was focusing entirely on the logical side.

None of them said anything. Patton remembered that Roman and Virgil were there too and he looked at them, seeing that they wore the same shocked expression as Logan. He took a deep breath and hugged himself, shifting his gaze to the floor, afraid of whatever was going to happen next. He almost never let out any of his negative feelings, or at least not ones that were directed towards anyone else, so he had no idea what to expect. Even though he didn’t like what he said and felt even more upset than before, he didn’t regret finally telling everyone how he really felt. But as relieved as he was, his stomach still cramped with anxiety and his chest hurt from knowing that he was surrounded by tension between him and his friends. He hated feeling this way; he just wanted things to go back to the way they were, with all of them contributing to Thomas’s life, all of them being heard and treated with love and respect, all of them a happy family.

“False-” Logan started, his voice hoarse and broken. “Falsehood. Patton, I-” He was interrupted by the abrupt appearance of someone new.

Sensing the addition to the group, Patton looked up and raised his brows in pleasant surprise when he saw Deceit standing a few feet away. Instinctively, he moved closer to the dark side, somehow feeling safer with him near.

Fidel smiled to himself when Patton stepped closer to him, then turned and smirked at the other sides, who were all obviously shocked at both his arrival and Morality’s decision to stand with him. He looked back down at Patton, concern evident on his face. “Are you alright, Patton?”

The shorter side shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”

“You’ve been with Deceit this whole time.” Logan’s voice was dead, devoid of emotion, not asking a question but stating a fact.

Patton looked at him and saw the face of someone who was hurt and betrayed; to a stranger, Logan would seem fine, neutral, but Patton knew him better than that. The slight curve of his eyebrows, his clenched jaw, the subtle change in his breathing gave away just how perturbed he really was.

Taking a breath, Patton squared his shoulders and faced Logan. “He made me feel wanted when none of you did.”

“Damn it, Patton, he’s a _dark side!_ A villain!” Logan barked, taking a step towards them. “How could you side with him? He can’t be trusted-”

“The only villain here is you, Logic,” said Patton, trying his best to keep from shaking out of both fear and anger.

Logan’s brows shot up. He shut his mouth and stared at the other side, frozen in place.

Deceit gently took Patton by the shoulders and turned him around to face him, then murmured, “Let’s go.”

Patton gave a small nod. Before sinking down with Fidel, he looked at Logan one more time. “You were supposed to be my hero.”

Plain hurt on Logan’s face was the last thing Patton saw before rising up in Deceit’s room.

Once they were alone, Patton let Deceit pull him into a warm hug. He wrapped his arms around the dark side and buried his face in his shoulder, grateful that he at least had Fidel.

They remained that way in silence for several seconds, then Patton slowly removed himself from the embrace. He didn’t feel good, exactly, but better than before. He looked up at Deceit with a small, tired smile. “Thank you for being my friend.”

A pained look crossed Fidel’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a smile of his own. “You don’t have to thank me, Patton.”

Patton shrugged. He made his way over to the large bed and crawled onto it, curling up against the pillows as Deceit followed suit.

“Are you alright?” he asked, lying on his side so he could look at Patton.

Patton fidgeted on the bed, grabbing one of the many throw pillows and hugging it to his chest. “I think so.”

“What do you feel like doing right now?”

Morality took a moment to think. “Just talking, I guess.”

“About anything in particular?”

“No. Whatever you want.” Patton watched as Fidel played with his bright yellow gloves.

Deceit was quiet for a while. Eventually, he said, slowly, “I know you’ve been going through a lot, and haven’t had much time at all to think about what I said before, but…” He paused, looking up at Patton with wide eyes, his lips slightly parted.

What could Patton say? He really didn’t have much time to figure out how he felt, that much was true. But he supposed now wasn’t the time for overthinking. His eyes traveled Deceit’s face as he remembered everything the dark side had done for him, how he made him feel like he deserved respect and love. Suddenly his mind jumped to Logan, to how sad he looked earlier, but Patton shoved the thought away. Logan wasn’t an option anymore.

“I’ve made up my mind,” Patton said quietly. His dark eyes met Fidel’s, and he smiled. He gently placed his hand on Fidel’s upper arm.

Surprise flooded Deceit’s face. “Does that mean…?”

Patton nodded, and his smile widened into a grin.

Deceit took a sharp breath. “May I kiss you?” he murmured, almost shyly.

“No…”

The dark side’s face fell.

“I’m just kiddin’ ya! Sure you can, kiddo.”

The corner of Fidel’s mouth curled upwards in a small smile and he rolled his eyes before cradling Patton’s face in his hands. He stared at him for a second, then pulled the moral side in for a short, sweet kiss.

Slowly separating, Patton opened his eyes and examined Deceit’s smiling face. “Can I touch your scales?”

Deceit threw back his head in a laugh and hugged the other side, pleased that Patton was returning to his normal self.

* * *

“Well, that was _quite_ the spectacle, wasn’t it?” said Roman, clapping his hands together. “Like a scene from Heathers.”

Virgil took a step towards Logan. “Hey, you okay, Lo?”

Logan stood still, staring at the spot where Patton used to be, not responding.

Did all that really just happen? Patton had run off with Deceit of all people. The side that was responsible for nothing but lies. And Patton had decided to trust him, believe that he was a friend, not someone who would take advantage of him the second he was presented with an opportunity. All because Logan had a short fuse and didn’t sugarcoat everything. 

He could barely comprehend the accusations Patton had made. It was simply untrue that Logan didn’t care about Morality; he probably cared the most out of all of them. When Patton had called him Logic instead of his real name… How was he supposed to recover from that? He might act like he didn’t have feelings sometimes, but that didn’t make them any less real or valid. All he wanted was for things to be normal between them again, for Patton to call him by his name and forgive him for all the hurtful things he’d said and done. He knew he wasn’t perfect, but for Patton, he was willing to try to be.

“Logan.”

“I’m fine,” he snapped. He sighed, forcing himself to calm down. “I’m fine,” he repeated, more calmly. “We should… go back to the common room.” He sank down, not bothering to see if the others had anything more to say.

Seconds after rising up back in the main area of the mind palace, he was joined by Virgil and Roman again. 

“How are we gonna get him back?” asked Virgil as he returned to his seat at the kitchen island, shortly followed by Roman.

Logan walked over and leaned against the counter, facing them. “I don’t know yet.”

“Please, I know what you’re all thinking, and my answer is yes, I’ll be the one to save Patton,” said Roman, looking as full of himself as ever.

Logan glared at him. “You will do no such thing. No one’s doing anything until he’s had time to calm down, and after that, I’m talking to him. Not either of you.” He was the most responsible for the problem, so he would be the one to fix it.

“But-”

“Princey, let Logan handle this one.” Virgil rested his hand on Roman’s shoulder and gave him a look.

Roman met Virgil’s eyes, then looked away. “Fine,” he muttered.

Logan nodded at the anxious side. “I appreciate your support, Virgil.” He stood up straight and adjusted his tie. “I’m going to my room to deliberate on the best course of action. Don’t try anything.” With that, he sank down, hoping against hope that he would be able to come up with an argument that would convince the moral side to come back to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i took so long to update, jeez louise, sorry about that. i wrote most of it just now with minimal editing and it's like 2am so if it's not the best that's why. i just wanted to get it out as soon as i could for the lovely people who've been waiting patiently for too long. anyway hope you enjoyed this chapter! you're swell and i love you ok bye


	4. A Change of Mind and Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton comes to a realization and has to deal with the consequences.

It had been two weeks since Fidel had confessed to Patton, and the moral side didn’t know what to do.

Everything was okay at first. He and Deceit began spending almost every waking minute with each other, chatting about anything and everything, trying their best to make the other happy. And Patton was happy. Or at least he thought he was. He started questioning how he felt one night when they were relaxing in Patton’s room.

* * *

“How do I look?”

“Totally not adorable.”

Patton grinned up at Fidel from under his boyfriend’s hat and spun in a circle to show off the accessory. “It’s heavier than I expected,” he said with a giggle. “How can you wear it all the time?”

“I’m used to it,” Fidel replied, smiling gently at the moral side. “I find it comforting, actually. I feel more like myself under its weight.”

Morality nodded in enthusiastic understanding. “Well, now you have to try on something of mine! To make it even.” He grabbed Fidel’s hands and started swinging his arms playfully.

Deceit quirked a brow. “Oh? And what do you suggest, Patton?”

Patton let go of Fidel's hands before untying the cat hoodie that was draped over his shoulders and shrugging it off, shoving away the thought of Logan that immediately entered his mind. Sure, Logan gave it to him, but it was just a hoodie. Nothing special about it.

He gently pulled it around Fidel’s slender shoulders and tied the sleeves in front of his chest, Fidel watching and cooperating in silence. When Patton finished and stepped back, he couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the snake-faced side wearing the hoodie instead of the usual hat.

“Well?” said Deceit, barely concealing a smile.

“Hmm…” He looked cute as a button, of course, but Patton wasn’t completely satisfied. With a small smirk, Patton removed his glasses and carefully placed them on Fidel’s nose. But when he got a good look of the now bespectacled dark side, Patton no longer saw Fidel; instead, Logan stood in his place.

Patton blinked. No, this was Fidel, his boyfriend, the one who made him happy, not Logan with his anger and arrogance. Logan’s hair was black, not dark brown like Deceit’s. Reptilian scales graced only one of their faces, not both. They were different. Fidel looked nothing like Logan.

Oh, but he did, and Patton didn’t find himself hating it.

Feeling guilt start to flood his system, he did his best to ignore what just crossed his mind and gave Fidel the brightest smile he could muster. “You look better as me than me!”

He saw a flicker of concern cross Deceit’s face, but in an instant he was smiling back at the light side through the dark frames.

* * *

Ever since that moment, more and more similarities between Fidel and Logan made themselves apparent to Patton; in fact, to his dismay, he caught himself seeking them. Every time Fidel resembled Logan in some way, no matter how small and insignificant, Patton couldn’t help but find him even more attractive than he already did. What did this mean? He shouldn’t be having feelings or thoughts like this; it was Fidel he wanted to be with, not Logan. But if that were true, this wouldn’t be an issue. He wouldn’t try to find Logan in someone who wasn’t him. He would be completely happy and fulfilled.

Patton sat up on his bed and looked for some source of guidance from the countless keepsakes hidden around his room. The card Virgil had made him for Christmas was displayed on his desk; Roman had given him a little figurine of himself, sash and all, which now guarded a bookshelf (“It will protect you from any demons if I’m not around to do it,” Roman had said). It was easy to find all the little gifts of friendship that the sides had given him over the years. Of course he loved and treasured all of them, but the most meaningful to him were the ones from Logan. Granted, they weren’t quite as bountiful, but they were the most personal. Each of them was clearly picked out or made specifically for Patton, referencing a particular memory they shared together or involving something that only Patton was interested in. He glanced down at the sleeves resting on his chest and turned one over in his hand, smiling at the paw pattern. Remembering Logan’s scientific reasoning behind the gift made his smile widen. The logical side really could be sweet when he wanted to be.

Deceit entered his mind then. Yes, he was sweet in his own way and made Patton feel good about himself, but their history didn’t exactly compare to Patton’s and Logan’s. He truly felt like he and Logan were meant to be together. 

Now he wondered if he ever actually felt anything for Fidel, or if he simply wanted to make Logan jealous. Either way, he knew that he still loved Logan with all his heart.

With renewed confidence in himself and his decision, Morality hopped off his bed and immediately sank down, rising up outside Fidel’s room. He mentally assured himself that he was doing the right thing, then knocked on the door. He only had to wait a few seconds before he was greeted by Fidel.

“Hello, Patton,” Deceit said with a small smile.

“Hiya! Um, can I talk to you about something?”

Fidel’s smile faded into a frown. “Obviously. Come in.” He stepped to the side, allowing Patton to walk in before shutting the door. “Is everything alright?”

Patton stood in the center of the room and fidgeted with his hands, not able to look Fidel in the eye. “Well, the thing is-” The feeling of Fidel’s strong hands gently gripping his arms kept him from finishing the sentence. Fidel lowered himself so that Patton had no choice but to look at him. Patton swallowed. No, he had to follow through, no matter what Fidel did or how charming he was. “I care about you a lot, Fidel,” Patton started again. “But I’ve been thinking about things lately and… I want to be with Logan.” He grimaced a little, nervous about how Fidel would react.

Deceit was silent for a moment. “I see,” he finally said. His face was completely impassive. He removed his hands from Patton’s arms and put some distance between the two of them, refusing to look at the other side.

“Fidel, are you-”

“After how he’s treated you?” the dark side snapped, whirling back around to face Morality. He wasn’t yelling, but it frightened Patton nonetheless. “After all the verbal abuse, all the times he made you feel worthless? Yet you still love him.” He barked a bitter laugh.

Patton was trying his very best not to burst into tears. “I’m sorry,” he gasped, beginning to shake. 

“Just leave.”

Doing as he was told, Patton sank down as quickly as he could, then rose up in his own room. He stood still for a moment in shock and tried to process what just happened. 

He and Fidel were no longer together. This was what he wanted, wasn’t it?

Normally he might wait a while and spend some time by himself to recover, but right now he really didn’t feel like being alone. He sank down once more and rose up in front of Logan’s room, knocking as soon as he was able.

Logan opened the door immediately and looked down at Morality with wide eyes. “Patton? Can I help you?”

Patton opened his mouth to answer, but was cut short when he blinked and found himself back in Fidel’s room. “What…?” He looked around in a panic, freezing when his eyes fell on Deceit.

The deceptive side leaned against a wall with his arms folded in front of him. He faced Patton with daggers in his eyes. “Normally I would let something like this go. Fine, you don’t love me, I’ll get over it. But do you know how frustrating it is, Patton, to put so much time and effort into getting where I was? Where we were?” He stalked towards Patton now, his cloak flowing behind him. “I have power now, Patton. It’s how I was able to pluck you from wherever you were and bring you back here. Neat, isn’t it?”

Patton said nothing. Hot tears had started streaming down his face, but he didn’t care.

“Do you know why I wanted to help you in the first place? Why I told you to change for your friends? To lie to them?”

Patton had a guess, but he remained silent.

“When other people lie, it helps me. It gives me power. That’s all I wanted, but then I just had to fall in love with your idiotic self.” Deceit paused, took off his hat, ran a gloved hand through his hair, tossed his hat to the side. “And now you’re gone. What’s the point of power without you by my side?”

All Patton could do was shake his head and sob. This will all be over soon, he thought to himself. Everything will be okay. 

“I don’t blame you. It’s not your fault. You can’t control your feelings. I know who is to blame in all this, though. Logan took you from me even though he’s treated you terribly, and that is unacceptable. He needs to be punished.”

“No,” Patton choked out in between gasps. “Don’t hurt him.”

“Oh, I won’t,” Fidel said with a cold smile. “Not physically, at least.” He pulled his gloves tighter on his hands. “Don’t go anywhere, alright? We haven’t gotten to the fun part yet.” With that, he sank out, leaving Patton utterly alone.

Patton tried to sink down, but nothing happened. “No,” he mumbled, running to the bedroom door. He turned the knob, but it was locked. “No!” He let his sobs turn to screams as he fell to the floor and curled into a ball, hoping more than anything that Logan would be okay.

* * *

The next time Logan talked with Virgil and Roman, the subject of Patton came up.

“Have I told the two of you yet that I saw Patton the other day?” said Logan. “He came to my room, but when I opened my door he just disappeared. Didn’t say a word.”

“How rude of him,” Roman muttered.  


“I think he simply changed his mind and decided that he wasn’t quite ready to talk yet. I’ll give him another week or two before I try to approach him again.”

“Good plan. Give the dude his space.”

“Thank you, Virgil. I intend to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so it's been like more than two months and i'm very sorry for the wait, i love you very much and appreciate your patience <3 not to make excuses but college is hard. finals are over, though, and i survived so everything is good! i hope this chapter didn't hurt you too much (i mean i do but in a good way, if you hurt it means you care) i'll do my very best to not take forever to update again! i love you! have a swell day/night!


	5. Give Him Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan realizes something's wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **trigger warning!** this chapter deals with extended time in isolation.

Surely Deceit would let Patton go eventually. He had to. There was good in everybody, Patton was sure of that, and Fidel was no exception. The dark side had even proven it several times before. Patton listed in his head all the examples he could think of: Fidel showing genuine concern when Patton was doubting himself; their time together at the park; the fact that instead of pressuring Patton for an answer right away, Fidel had accepted his need for time to think. 

Letting his head fall to the pillows on Deceit’s bed, he smiled to himself. Logan would approve of his use of evidence to back up his belief. Everyone had good in them, yes. Deceit would let him go soon and everything would be alright. By the end of the day, he’d be back with his friends and they’d be happy together again. He knew it.

* * *

A week was enough time, Logan thought to himself. He hadn’t yet heard anything from Patton, so the logical side decided he needed to initiate the inevitable conversation between the two of them. He only hoped that Patton would be open to having it.

Rising up in front of Patton’s door, Logan quickly went over what he planned to say for the dozenth time before knocking. He waited for several seconds, but no answer came.

“Patton? It’s Logan.”

Still no response.

Logan sighed and stepped closer to the door. “Alright. You don’t want to talk, and that’s fine. You don’t have to. All I ask is that you listen to me.” He didn’t expect a response, but he waited for a moment anyway before continuing. “I know you’re upset with me. Looking back at how I’ve been treating you, it’s completely understandable. I just want you to know that I’m truly sorry for making you feel like you aren’t wanted. We need you, Patton. Thomas needs you.” He swallowed. “I need you.”

It was the truth. No matter how bitter Logan could get, he knew he could always look to the moral side as a source of light in an otherwise dark world. He wished Patton could say the same about him, but knew it was highly unlikely. Logan hated himself for having such a low tolerance for nonsense and for how blunt he could be. If Logan were different, Patton wouldn’t have gone searching elsewhere for acceptance. Sure, Roman and Virgil (well, mainly Roman) might still make hurtful comments towards him, but he at least would have had Logan to turn to.

But of course that wasn’t the reality. Logan had made mistake after stupid mistake, and it had cost him dearly. He doubted he could ever permanently change his personality, but maybe, hopefully, just watching himself more carefully and thinking before speaking would be enough to fix his relationship with Morality. 

“You need to understand that what you said before isn’t true in the slightest. I care about you, Patton, and I am incredibly sorry that I ever made you think differently. I will do my best to prove that to you.” He paused again, took a breath, rested his forehead against the door. “You’re always so positive. I never thought anything could really hurt you. Now I know just how wrong I was, and I’m so sorry, Patton.”

He took a step back and adjusted his glasses. “I’ll leave you alone now. I hope you will take my words into consideration. Goodbye.” Logan sank down and rose up in his own room, satisfied with the effort he made. Now it was up to Patton to keep the dialogue going.

* * *

A few hours had gone by, at least, and nothing had changed. Patton was still as alone and lonely as ever. All he wanted was for Logan to hug him and tell him everything would be okay. Now he wasn’t so sure that it would, though. If Deceit planned on releasing him, he would’ve by now, wouldn’t he? What if he was stuck here forever? He couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing his friends again.

And Thomas, oh, Patton couldn’t imagine how terrible the change in Thomas would be without his Morality. He’d be a much worse person, of course, but on top of that he’d lose his friends, his family, his fans. Everything he loved, or used to love, would be gone. Patton couldn’t let that happen to him. He hoped with everything in him that there was still time.

Unable to keep pacing, Patton stopped in one corner of the room and slowly slid down the wall to the floor, pulled his knees to his chest, and broke down into a sobbing mess once more. Nothing would be okay. No one was coming to save him. It was all his fault, and there was nothing he could do to fix any of it.

* * *

“I tried talking to Patton.”

“Yeah?” Virgil replied, looking over at Logan from where he was sprawled on the couch. “How’d it go?”

Logan pursed his lips. “I apologized for my actions, and told him that he was wrong in thinking that I…” He cleared his throat. “That we don’t want him back.”

“And?”

“And nothing. He didn’t even acknowledge that I was there. I was talking through his door the whole time.” He took a seat in the armchair next to the couch and crossed one leg over the other, his foot shaking in apprehension. Hopefully that was all it was, just Patton deciding to ignore him because he wasn’t ready to talk yet. He didn’t want to think about any other potential reason for the moral side’s silence.

“You ever think maybe he wasn’t actually in his room?” said Virgil. He sat up straighter and pulled his hood further over his head.

Logan shook his head. “I do not wish to.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “You’d really rather believe in something we both know isn’t very likely than prepare for the worst? Come on, Lo. You know where he could’ve been. Where he probably was.”

Crossing his arms, Logan looked away, not wanting to hear anything more from Anxiety. He knew the other side was right, though. Logan should consider all the possibilities, especially the one that was most likely true. But he didn’t have to like it.

“Just let me know if you see him,” Logan finally said before standing and leaving the room.

* * *

How much time had passed? Hours, days, it all felt the same to Patton at this point. Deceit wasn’t coming back. None of the other sides knew where he was. Or maybe they did, but they just didn’t care. Why would they? They hated him, that was plain to see. Logan most of all. Patton was of no use to them anyway, so it didn’t matter. He didn’t care. Not about them, not about Fidel, not about himself, not about anything. He was going to be trapped in this extravagant room forever, and he didn’t care.

He didn’t notice, either. Notice that his hands were constantly shaking uncontrollably, that he was quickly losing weight, that his cat hoodie was lying in a sad pile on the floor after he tore it off his back and threw it as far away from him as possible.

All he could think about now was how many times he could walk in circles around the room before he couldn’t anymore.

* * *

Enough was enough, Logan thought as he rose up outside Patton’s room. Yet another week had gone by, and there was still no word from the moral side. It was time to try again, and Logan wasn’t giving up as easily this time.

He knocked on the door once, then again, louder, when there was no response. “Patton, I’m coming in,” he declared. He tried the knob, but it was locked. Good thing he had ways around that.

Logan sank down and immediately rose up in Patton’s room without issue. Taking in his surroundings, he realized that he was alone. Patton was nowhere to be found. Logan froze where he stood, mind beginning to race through all the possible explanations. Not once had Logan seen him around the mind palace, so it wasn’t likely he was in any of the common areas. He could have imagined some place to go be alone, separate from the house, but it would be next to impossible to find him if that was the case; he’d only search for him that way if every other option failed.

Deep in his heart, though, he knew Virgil was right. He knew where Patton was, as much as he hated to admit it. But his loathing of the situation wasn’t about to prevent him from seeking out his friend and attempting to rectify all his past mistakes.

Taking a breath to keep his emotions at bay, he sank down once again, rising up outside Deceit’s room and knocking as soon as he was able.

“Patton?” he called, not expecting an answer but hoping for one anyway.

For several seconds, there was silence. When he was about to try again, however, he heard the faintest sound come from inside; Logan was barely able to make out his own name. He could easily tell that Patton was the speaker, but it sounded wrong, much too weak. Logan focused on staying calm and not letting his worry affect him.

“I’m here, Patton. Are you alright?”

No more signs of life came from the room. Logan blinked rapidly, his normally slow and steady breaths now verging on hyperventilating. Clearly something was wrong. Patton was in danger, and there was no doubt in Logan’s mind that Deceit was responsible.

He tried the door but of course it didn’t open, so he decided to sink down and rise up inside. Horror flooded him when he realized that he wasn’t able to – the room was somehow blocked. How was that even possible? Those were the only ways in. He was out of options now.

Logan couldn’t help but let out a cry of anger and fear as he fell against the bedroom door and raked his hands through his hair. No, he had to stay calm and alert. Not much could be done if he let his feelings get in his way. He had to keep his wits about him and get moving. Find another way, he told himself. Do whatever it takes. Just get to Patton.

He sank down and rose up in the living room, hoping both Virgil and Roman would be there. To his relief, they were, the two of them sprawled on the couch together. Logan faced them and spoke with more urgency in his voice than ever before. “Patton’s in trouble. We need to help him.”

Roman and Virgil glanced over at him in surprise. “What?” said Roman.

“Deceit’s room. Now,” Logan ordered, and with that, he returned to the door separating him from his friend. The stupid, problematic door that most certainly couldn’t simply be broken down. If Deceit was behind the blockage of the room, which he surely was, that meant he had an unusual amount of power and could easily make the door invincible. So, if he couldn’t physically get in, that just meant he had to strike at the root of the problem. He just had to figure out how to do that exactly. He was almost glad the stakes were high; he always did work better under pressure.

He sensed the arrival of the other two sides and quickly turned to see their confused faces. He didn’t wait for them to start asking questions. “We have to get inside. Patton’s in there and he can barely speak, and you know how much he talks, so something is clearly wrong. The door is locked, and we can’t rise up inside. Any ideas?”

Roman and Virgil looked at each other, then back to Logan. Virgil shook his head while Princey offered, “I can break the door down.”

Logan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Of course that’s the first thing you come up with,” he muttered under his breath. “I doubt it will work, but fine, go ahead and try. I’ll keep thinking.”

Roman furrowed his brow at him, but began doing his best to try and break into Deceit’s room. Virgil voiced a small warning to be careful while Logan turned his back to them and stepped away, not finding it necessary to watch Roman fail. Doing his best to ignore the obnoxious sounds of the prince throwing himself against the door, Logic hurriedly rummaged through all the information he had stored away in an effort to find the reason behind Deceit’s newfound power.

Then it came to him. “That’s enough, Princey,” he said, walking back to them. 

Roman stopped, breathing hard and brushing his hair out of his eyes. “So… that didn’t work.”

“Let’s think about this logically – how did Deceit become so powerful? Roman, when do you feel at your best?”

Roman scoffed. “When I’m being creative and heroic, obviously.”

“Virgil?”

The former dark side deliberated for a moment before answering. When he did, a troubled frown took over his face. “When Thomas… has an anxiety attack.” Roman, likely noticing the sudden change in his boyfriend, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Virgil rested his own on top of it and glared at the logical side. “If you already have a point, hurry up and make it. You’re wasting time.”

“My point is we all feel strongest when we’re doing what we’re each supposed to do. It stands to reason that those around us doing it as well could add to that strength. Have you all noticed that we haven’t been very honest lately?”

Logan watched as the other sides considered his claim. Eventually Virgil gave a shy nod, and Roman noticed, his jaw dropping dramatically.

“Virgie? When have you ever lied?”

“Hey, it’s not important, and don’t look so surprised. It’s not like you’re the epitome of truth either, Princey. Don’t deny it.”

“Focus,” Logan barked. The other sides returned their attention to him, Roman pouting and Virgil quirking a brow. “I admit I’ve done my fair share of lying and hiding the truth as well, and I’m confident that Patton has too. All of this leads me to believe that we have helped Deceit gain abilities that we haven’t seen before.”

“Sure, makes sense, but how do we stop it?” said Virgil.

Logan pushed up his glasses. “We start telling the truth. Be completely honest about everything we’ve kept hidden. State nothing but facts. I’ll go first.” He took a deep breath. “I’m in love with Patton.”

Virgil and Roman both smirked at him. “It’s nice you aren’t denying it anymore,” said Roman.

“It only took him being trapped by Deceit for you to finally say it,” added Virgil.

“That’s enough, just start saying truths,” Logan growled, glaring at them.

“Fine, here’s one. I know I claim to love all Disney movies, but I can’t stand the live action remakes! There, I said it.”

“I actually kinda dig them.”

Roman whipped his head to look at his boyfriend. “Here’s another fact: Your taste is despicable.”

Logan groaned inwardly and prepared himself for the amount of corralling he would inevitably have to do.

For a long while, the three sides continued in that way, alternating between spouting genuine honesty and bickering. Every so often they would try the door and attempt to rise up inside Deceit’s room, but nothing changed. Virgil and Roman eventually grew tired from standing and sat on the floor, while Logan remained upright, his gaze never leaving the door. He was getting more frustrated and worried every second, and didn’t understand how the other two could just sit down and relax when anything could be happening to Patton.

“Damn it!” Logan finally snapped after another failed attempt to get inside. He turned around and faced the others. “This should be working.”

Virgil shrugged. “Got any other brilliant ideas, Lo?”

“Yes, Lo, any other ideas?” purred a sudden voice from behind Logan.

He spun around again to find Deceit leaning with his back against the door, his hands folded in front of him. Logan didn’t stop to think before he lunged at the dark side, only to fly through the space where Deceit used to be and crash into the door. He narrowed his eyes in pain and confusion and looked around for the unwanted visitor. He spotted him just a few feet away from the group.

Roman and Virgil had both jumped to their feet and were staring hard at Deceit.

The dark side looked between the three of them with a smug smile. “You’re all doing such a good job saving your little friend.”

“What have you done with him?” Logan hissed, barely containing his anger. His hands clenched as he squared his shoulders and took a threatening step forward.

“If you’re so smart, why don’t you figure it out?” Deceit taunted. His proud demeanor quickly darkened. “Did you really think I’d let you get away with treating Patton like shit and then stealing him away from me?”

Logan’s eyes widened in shock. “You two were together?” He didn’t know why he was so surprised – it made sense. Looking back, he could see all the signs. Maybe he didn’t see it because he simply didn’t want to believe it.

“For being Logic, you really are dense,” said Deceit.

“If you don’t let Patton go right now, I swear to god…” Virgil growled.

“Ooh, so scary! I’ll definitely let him go now.”

Roman puffed out his chest and conjured a sword, then moved into a fighting stance. “Step back, peasants. I’ll handle this.” He swiftly approached Deceit and moved to strike when the dark side disappeared again, reappearing behind Roman and kicking him in the back. Roman stumbled forward but easily regained his footing and spun back around. Confusion was evident on his face. “How?” he muttered as Virgil crossed over to him to make sure he was okay.

“I’ll let all of you know right now that there’s no possible outcome of this situation where you win. Patton’s been alone in that room for two weeks. And none of you even noticed until now, it seems. Guess that just goes to show that you really don’t care much at all about him.”

Two weeks of isolation. How could Logan have taken this long to seek Patton out? Logan would never forgive himself.

“He won’t be the same when he’s freed.” Deceit began to slowly circle the other sides in a casual strut.

“So you plan to release him,” said Logan, hope slipping into his voice.

“Of course, I’m not a monster. Although, I doubt I’ll do it soon enough for your liking. It’ll be a real treat watching the three of you continue to fail to rescue him.”

“Why are you doing this? He doesn’t deserve it.”

“You’re right, he doesn’t. But you do. You can’t just assume I’ll be fine with you taking him from me after making him feel terrible about himself.”

“Then hurt me! Trap me! Leave him out of it!” Logan yelled, tired of keeping himself composed.

Deceit chuckled. “But this is much more fun, isn’t it? And more painful. Look at you,” he said, gesturing towards Logan. “You’re in agony over him.”

Logan was seething now, unable to speak. All he could do was slowly shake his head at the dark side.

“Patton’s our friend too, you know,” spat Roman, jabbing his thumb towards himself and Virgil. “Do we deserve to be punished as well?”

Deceit arched a brow. “Your pain is an added perk. I know you haven’t been treating Patton much better than this genius over here,” he said, nodding his head at Logan. He stopped walking and turned so he was facing all of them. “Well, I’d best be off. It’s been a pleasure chatting with all of you.” He smirked at each of them in turn, ending with Logan, before sinking down.

* * *

Everything was dark. Were his eyes just closed, or had he gone blind?

He was alone, but wait. Somewhere off in the distance he could hear his own name being called; that must have been what woke him up. No, he wasn’t there. He couldn’t be there. It was impossible.

There. Another sound. A knock this time. He wasn’t there. But what if he was?

“Logan,” Patton gasped before slipping back into the comforting void of unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! i hope you're swell!
> 
> this chapter was hecking difficult to write. i was originally planning on ending it somewhere else, but doing that probably would have made this way too long. plus i've been working on this for like three days ~~gay~~ straight and i'm tired lol
> 
> i think we're nearing the end? maybe a couple more chapters? we'll see. i'm flying by the seat of my pants here
> 
> okie dokie, hope you enjoyed! i love you a lot <3 have a nifty night/day!


	6. I Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton's friends attempt to save him. Logan and Deceit rethink everything.

“What’re we gonna do? We can’t wait around for Deceit to let him out.”

“What if we just killed him?”

“I don’t think that’s possible, Princey.”

“Well, how would you know? It’s not like you’ve ever tried.”

“You don’t know everything I have and haven’t done.”

“Both of you shut up.” Logan had to think, and listening to the two other sides bicker made it significantly more difficult. “Virgil’s right, killing Deceit isn’t an option. He can’t die unless Thomas goes through some kind of trauma that affects him permanently, and even if we could kill him, it isn’t a good idea. Thomas would never be able to lie again.”

“So?”

“Don’t you remember Kant’s dilemma? Lying is occasionally necessary.” Logan shook his head in frustration. “We’re getting distracted. Clearly each of us telling different truths isn’t working.” He crossed his arms and began pacing around the others, staring hard at the floor. They were focusing on the wrong thing. They couldn’t be the only source of Deceit’s power.

Suddenly, he froze where he stood and his gaze shot back up towards Virgil and Roman. “I know what we have to do.”

“What is it?” asked Roman with a raised brow.

“Go to Thomas.” Without waiting for a response, Logan sank down and rose up in Thomas’s living room where the latter was lying on the couch watching TV. 

He glanced up at Logan with a disinterested frown before turning back to his show. “What do you want?”

At that moment Roman and Virgil rose up nearby, but Logan ignored them. “Thomas, Morality’s in trouble and it’s Deceit’s doing,” he began, his voice low and thick with fear.

“That sucks.” Thomas took a sip of his coffee.

Logan glared at him. He knew Thomas was only acting this way because Patton was gone, but it still irked him. “You’re the only one who can save him.”

“Why would I wanna do that?”

“Look at yourself!” Logic hissed. “Your sense of right and wrong is incredibly askew. If you don’t return to your regular self you’ll lose everything you love.” Thomas was making him increasingly nervous; if they couldn’t get through to him, they were very likely out of options and would be forced to wait until Deceit decided to let Patton out, and there was no telling how long that would take.

Thomas heaved a heavy sigh and crossed his arms. He met Logan’s eyes and said, “So you’re saying if I help you, I won’t lose my stuff?”

That wasn’t exactly the reaction Logan was hoping for, but he knew that he had to play along if he was going to convince the young performer. “Yes, yes, precisely. You just have to do what I say.”

Roman and Virgil watched quietly from where they stood by the staircase, no doubt trusting Logan to handle Thomas on his own. It was primarily his fault they were in this mess, after all.

“Okie dokie.” Thomas grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, turning to face Logan completely. “What?”

Logan quickly glanced at the two other sides, receiving an encouraging nod from Virgil and a shrug from Roman. He looked back at Thomas. “You need to face any and all truths that you’ve been hiding from yourself. What haven’t you been admitting?” Logan had some suggestions if Thomas continued to be difficult, but he wasn’t entirely sure if they really were true. He just had to hope they’d work.

Thomas furrowed his brow, thinking for a moment. Finally, he shrugged. “I dunno.”

“You can’t lie, Thomas! You’ll make it worse.”

“What about how you’re secretly in love with Joan?” said Roman, stepping closer to them.

Thomas’s eyes widened and Logan almost smiled. That was one of his ideas; it was only a guess, but if Roman, the most romantic side, brought it up, there was probably some truth to it. He could sense romantic love much more easily than any of the other sides could.

“I… No, I’m not.”

“Thomas. You don’t want to lose your belongings, do you?” Logan prompted. The hesitation was obvious and a good sign – it indicated falsehood. He couldn’t help but feel a bit more confident.

Looking from one side to the next, Thomas stammered some more before finally speaking the truth. “Yeah. I guess I am.”

“Say the whole of it.”

“I’m in love with Joan.” Thomas looked down at his lap, seemingly ashamed or otherwise unhappy that it was the case.

Logan nodded, careful not to get too excited just yet. “Good.” He turned to Virgil and Roman. “Keep trying to get him to tell whatever else he’s been hiding. I trust you won’t screw everything up?” He phrased it as a question, and the two sides glanced at each other before agreeing. “I’m going to see if anything’s changed.”

He sank down and attempted once more to rise up inside Deceit’s room, but it was still blocked. Instead, he returned to the area outside of the room, trying not to feel discouraged. “Please open,” he mumbled to himself as he turned the doorknob. Relief flooded him when the door swung inward without issue and he immediately ran over to where Patton was collapsed on the floor face down. “Patton!” Logan knelt beside him and gently turned him over, forcing himself to stay calm. “Patton, I’m here.”

No response came from the moral side. His eyes were shut, his glasses were crooked on his nose, and his breaths were shallow. Logan sat on the floor, pulling him into his lap and wrapping his arms around him before burying his face in Patton’s hair. At last, Patton was back in his life, and Logan wasn’t helpless to protect him anymore. He hated himself for being the reason all of this happened, but at the moment the hatred was overshadowed by pure joy at the fact that now the man he loved was in his arms, right where Logan always wished he could be. “It’s alright, you’re safe now,” Logan whispered, not caring at all that his eyes were wet. “I’m here.” He kept repeating that phrase and cradling the moral side, not knowing what else to do, until Patton finally stirred. 

“Lo,” he murmured. His voice was incredibly faint, no stronger than it was before, but it was something.

Gently pulling away from Morality, Logan looked into his face to find two dull brown eyes slowly blinking up at him. “I’ll be your hero again, Patton.”

Before anything more could be said, Deceit appeared a few feet away. He sneered down at Logic and opened his mouth to speak when his eyes landed on Patton. The anger and contempt evident in his expression quickly softened into what looked like concern. Logan didn’t care.

“Get away, now,” Logan growled, clutching Patton even tighter.

Deceit closed his mouth, looked away, then sank down without a word.

Logan looked back at Patton, who had lost consciousness once more. He slowly adjusted his grip so that he could carry him before sinking down and rising up in Patton’s room. 

As soon as they arrived, Logan carefully laid his friend on the bed. He glanced around the room in search of a blanket, found one draped over a nearby chair, and lowered it onto Patton’s cold form, hoping it would help somehow. Once he had made sure Patton was in as comfortable a position as possible, Logan fell to his knees at Patton’s bedside and took his hand.

A thousand worrisome thoughts chased each other in his mind. Would Patton ever recover? Would he forgive Logan for putting him in such a terrible situation? How could anyone be certain that Deceit wouldn’t pull something similar again? 

Logan stroked Patton’s hand with his thumb, convincing himself that the only thing that mattered now was staying by his side and supporting him. The other bridges could be crossed when he got to them.

He suddenly remembered that Roman and Virgil weren’t updated on what had happened. He considered telling them now, but to be honest, he didn’t care if they knew Patton was saved. It wasn’t a priority right now, at least. All he wanted to do was stay with the side who had nothing but kind words to say about anyone, who was always there for his friends no matter what, who was a beacon of endless optimism even when surrounded by negativity.

“I love you,” Logan whispered right before he fell into a restless sleep, hunched over the side of the bed. Not once did his hand leave Patton’s.

* * *

Roman and Virgil were eventually made aware that Patton was safe once more. Of course they were irritated at Logan for not being informed sooner, but their anger was short-lived, soon replaced by relief that their friend was back where he belonged.

Patton’s recovery was slow to the point where the others were worried he’d never return to his former lively self. When Patton finally woke up several hours after being saved by Logan, he didn’t speak. It wasn’t until days later that he did, and what he had to say was not at all what any of the others wanted to hear; he accused them of not caring about what happened to him and claimed that they weren’t really there, that he was still trapped, that he was just hallucinating. Refusing to listen to anyone, Patton remained in his room while the other sides reluctantly left him alone with the exception of Logan, who visited Patton once a day in an effort to convince him that Logan was indeed really there and cared a great deal about the moral side. As difficult as it was to be pushed away by someone who was known for having an incredibly warm and inviting demeanor, Logan was too stubborn to leave him. In the end, this paid off, weeks later.

Looking up at his visitor with doubt in his eyes, which Logan noticed had brightened significantly, Patton quietly asked, “Are you sure you’re here?”

Logan gave a sad smile. “I’m certain. No one’s leaving you again.”  
Without warning, Patton leapt out of his bed and hugged Logan, burrowing into the taller side’s chest.

“Oh.” Too shocked to do anything else, Logan gently wrapped his arms around Patton. Hugs were not his forte by any means, and in any other situation he would probably refuse any form of affectionate physical contact, but there was no way in hell that he was going to refuse Patton in this instant after so many days of wondering if the moral side would ever want anything to do with him again.

“Did you mean it when you said you love me?” Patton mumbled into Logan’s shirt, causing Logan to look down at him in confused surprise.

How did he know? He must not have been completely unconscious when Logan had made that confession. It didn’t matter, though. “Of course I meant it.”

Now Patton lifted his head to look into Logan’s eyes, his small, bright smile lighting up the room and making the logical side feel like everything was finally okay again. “I love you too, Logan.”

* * *

Unfortunately, everything soon became less okay in Patton’s opinion.

In the days that followed the moment where he realized he was safe with Logan, the logical side helped him reunite with Roman and Virgil. Of course they greeted him with open arms, and for a while their lives were back to the way they were before, excepting the new aspect of his and Logan’s relationship.

The brief period of peace and joy Patton was experiencing for the first time in a long while was cut short one day when Logan asked to speak with him alone. Patton agreed, not thinking anything of it, and followed Logan to Patton’s room.

They stood in silence, Patton watching Logan expectantly and Logan looking anywhere but at Patton.  
Finally, Logan spoke up. “You are aware I have very strong feelings for you.”

Patton grinned and nodded with enthusiasm. “Right back atcha!” He expected Logan to smile a little, or state one of his many fun facts, or pull out a vocab card, but none of that happened. Logan frowned, instead, and Patton didn’t like it. “Logan?”

“I… cannot be with you, Patton.”

Morality stared at him, eyes wide, his heart in his stomach, and yet the smile stayed on his face. He didn’t hear him right. Right? “What?”

Logan took a step closer. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

Patton shook his head with a laugh. “I think you need to work on your jokes, kiddo! That one’s kinda sad and not fun–”

“Patton.” Logan gripped Patton by the shoulders, gently but firmly. “I’m serious.” Under his breath, he added, “Necktie.”

“I don’t understand,” said Patton, his smile now gone. Everything was perfect now! He had his friends back, Thomas was behaving like his old self again, and he had Logan. It was perfect. Logan couldn’t take that away from him before he’d even had a chance to enjoy it, could he?

Logan sighed, and Patton thought he saw tears in his eyes, but it was probably just a trick of the light. Logan never cried. “Deceit hurt you because you wanted to be with me. I can’t handle the thought of that happening again.”

“No! It’s not going to happen again!”

“You can’t know that.”

“Logan…”

For once in his life, Logic initiated a hug. Patton immediately succumbed to it even though he was angry and scared, leaning into Logan as the taller side easily supported him and rubbed his back in comforting circles.

“I do love you, Patton, and I wish the circumstances were different.” Logan leaned down and softly kissed Patton’s hair before pulling away from the embrace and sinking down, leaving Patton alone once more.

* * *

Deceit was disgusted with himself, to say the least.

He never meant for Patton to be as affected as he was. Well, maybe he did initially, but that was before he actually saw the moral side, so lifeless and… broken. That wasn’t a state any of the sides were meant to be in, least of all Patton.

Fidel stopped pacing and slammed his fists on his desk. Why did he have to overreact? Patton would probably never want to speak to him again, and he couldn’t blame him. His actions were despicable. Looked up at his mirror and glared at his reflection, wanting to shatter the glass but knowing that it would change nothing. He had to deal with the consequences. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to make amends.

He waited several weeks, wanting to give Patton the space he deserved as well as make sure that he had recovered completely. From time to time he would check in on him without his knowing, and because of this he learned that Logan had left him. Deceit didn’t know what to think or feel.

Finally, Fidel decided that it was as good a time as any. One night when all the sides had retired to their own rooms, he appeared outside Patton’s. He knocked on the door.

Within seconds, Deceit was face to face with Morality, who immediately backed away several steps when he saw who was at the door. A brief burst of pain pulsed in Fidel’s heart.

A soft whimper escaped Patton’s throat. “Please don’t lock me away again.”

Deceit’s hatred for himself grew. He raised his hands in a gesture of peace. “I promise I will,” he said. He didn’t realize his mistake until he saw Patton’s terrified expression. “That was a lie, forgive me! I meant won’t. I only wish to speak with you.”

Patton said nothing as he stood with his back against the far wall, looking sick with apprehension.

“You have to know how deeply I regret what I did to you. I’m so very sorry, Patton, please believe me. I-”

“Why should I listen to anything you have to say?”

“Please, I know I’m Deceit, but I never once lied to you about anything important.”

“This isn’t about you lying! You trapped me in your room for two weeks because you were mad at Logan!”

Fidel sighed. “Yes, you’re right, I lost my temper and I made a terrible, terrible mistake. Once I saw how you were so…” He swallowed hard. “Patton,” he continued, slowly shortening the distance between them. “My dear, sweet Patton, I will spend the rest of my life hating myself for what I did to you. I don’t expect you to come back to me. But please, please know that I’m truly sorry.”

Patton was quiet for a moment, carefully watching Fidel move closer. “I lost Logan because of you.”

It took every ounce of Fidel’s willpower not to roll his eyes. How could Patton still be so obsessed with the man who did nothing but make him feel worthless? “You deserve better than him.”

“I loved him!”

Deceit’s brows shot up at the outburst. They were both silent for a few seconds before he spoke again. “Loved?”

Patton hugged himself, his face reddening. “Fidel, will you leave me alone? Please?”

Well, that talk went about as well as Deceit expected. He took one last look at Patton, dipped his head, and sank down, returning to his own room.

* * *

The following night, another knock sounded at Patton’s bedroom door. He slid off his bed and went to open it, his dog plushie safe in his arms.

Patton opened the door to find no one there, but noticed his cat hoodie was hanging on the doorknob with a note resting on top. He picked up the note and unfolded it. Drawn in a light sketch was a little snake with its body curving around in the shape of a heart.

He grabbed the hoodie, closed the door, and returned to his bed, unable to hide a small smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't really edit oops
> 
> greetings and salutations, friendos! i hope your day/night is nifty as heck!
> 
> this may or may not be the end. i kinda wanna do an epilogue-y kinda thing but i'm also pretty happy with the way the ending to this chapter turned out. i'm fickle and in a pickle (honestly though i'm probably gonna end up doing it because i like my idea for it)
> 
> ~if~ this is the end, thank you very very very much for reading!! i hope you enjoyed it!!
> 
> aLsO i've been wanting to write some one-shots for sanders sides, and i would love any suggestions or requests if y'all have any! i think it'd be fun
> 
> aLsO #2 can i just say that the most recent sanders sides video was?? so good???? i think it's my favorite so far??? and deceit is sO hecking attractive??? ugh i love him
> 
> okie dokie i think that is all! i love you very much and thank you again for reading!


	7. Epilogue: Moving On

Time went on, as it always does, providing Thomas and his sides with countless opportunities to continue to grow and learn from past mistakes.

Thomas recovered alongside Patton, and soon he was back to his kind, caring self. He still had some problems in his social life that needed to be fixed, but it was a much less daunting task now that he had his morality back in addition to the other sides.

It took a while, but eventually Patton and Logan managed to return to a previous point in their relationship where they could be in the same room without any feeling of awkwardness between them. Glances full of guilt and regret slowly turned to friendly smiles and playful eye rolls, and it could soon be said once more that they were friends, and they were happy, although Logan would probably never admit it.

Patton hadn’t seen Deceit in months, but that didn’t mean the dark side was completely out of the picture. Every few weeks or so, Patton would find little gifts outside his door: Letters, flowers, notes, all obviously from Fidel. Each one included some form of apology and acknowledgement that they in no way made up for what happened, but he hoped they at least meant something. Morality didn’t make an effort to respond; presents couldn’t magically make everything better, and he was still trying to get over what happened. However, he did appreciate them, and found himself smiling whenever he received them.

What Deceit did was terrible, Patton knew that. He felt that it was a good thing that they were keeping distance between them. It wasn’t until Thomas, the other sides, and he made a video on forgiveness that Patton considered approaching Deceit to discuss everything. Thomas’s videos really had a way of making you reconsider your choices.

Patton breathed an anxious sigh as he softly knocked on Deceit’s door for the first time in months. Would Fidel be angry? Excited? Would he hurt Patton again? No, he thought. Everyone had good in them. Deceit was no exception. He had no right to be upset, anyway, so Patton refused to worry about it.

It took a few seconds, but the door did open. Patton looked up to meet Fidel’s wide eyes, his human one and snake one equally familiar and, he was surprised to find, comforting.

For a moment, Deceit simply stared at Patton, too shocked to say anything. Patton watched his reaction, almost feeling embarrassed, but he didn’t know why. Deceit was the first to talk.  
“What are you doing here?” He didn’t sound aggressive or angry, but calm and genuinely confused.

Patton opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “I was… I was hoping we could talk,” he said, taking in all of Fidel’s face. The dark side looked different, maybe more tired.

“Oh.” Fidel shuffled in place a little, and Patton couldn’t tell if it was out of nervousness or excitement. “I definitely wouldn’t like that. Where would you prefer?”

“Could we maybe go back to that one park?” Patton appreciated the fact that Fidel probably asked because he knew Patton wasn’t particularly interested in going inside his room. “I think some fresh air would be pretty nifty,” he added, quoting himself from the first day they went to the park.

The hint of a smile graced Deceit’s face. “Of course not.” Within seconds, they both found themselves in the middle of the bright scenery. Patton gazed around and smiled at the view while Deceit kept his eyes on him. Eventually they wandered over to a hill overlooking the pond.

Patton turned his attention from the ducks playing in the water to Deceit, who met his eyes. He was about to speak when the taller side beat him to it.

“You need to know that I utterly regret my actions towards you, Patton, and that is not a lie,” he said, his voice quiet but sure.

“I believe you, Fidel.”

Deceit’s brows shot up. “You do?”

Patton nodded, a smile slowly forming on his lips. “And I wanted to tell you that I forgive you.”

“I… know what to say.” Fidel looked away, contemplating. “Thank you.” He met the father-figure’s eyes again. “Has Logan said anything about me?”

Patton furrowed his brow. “No. Was he supposed to?”

Deceit sighed. “A while ago I tried talking to him in an attempt at reconciliation. He wasn’t interested, of course. I didn’t expect him to be. But I had to at least try.”

“Why?” asked Patton. He thought that the two couldn’t stand each other; it didn’t make sense that Fidel would intentionally seek him out.

Fidel tilted his head. “He’s important to you, yes?”

“Well, yes.” Morality shrugged. Fidel talked to Logan because of him? “But I’ve moved on.”

Deceit raised his eyes from the ground to meet Patton’s, his expression intense. “I haven’t.” 

Patton knew he wasn’t lying. They stared at each other in silence, when eventually Fidel slowly took Patton’s hand in his own. He watched the moral side carefully, and smiled hopefully when Patton didn’t pull away.

Patton smiled back at him, thinking maybe things could be okay again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!! hello!!!
> 
> she's finally done! i don't know if this chapter ended up as good as i hoped it would be but you know what, i'm happy and i'm done
> 
> if you made it this far, thank you very much, i really hope you enjoyed it!!! i don't know if i would have even tried to finish this story if y'all hadn't left all those lovely comments. in the future whenever i want to feel better i'm gonna reread all of them because they honestly make my day, thank you thank you thank you again!!
> 
> still wanting to do one-shots. will they be good? probably not. but who gives a hoot
> 
> alrighty friendos. i love all of you a lot and i hope you have a lovely day/night!!
> 
>  
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> 
> hold on i just wanna rant really quick one more time. i just got this bag from goodwill for like $7 and the texture is so nice and i love it and i put my little morality enamel pin on it and !!! i love it
> 
> okay love you bye


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